In August I went for a fill and was filled "blind". They put in 1 cc and then had to remove .4cc's because I was throwing up Water in the office. Since that time I have been living on liquids and mushies. Anything that will go thru the band without pain.

I tried to wait out the fill thinking that it would loosen up. I did not want to waste my money/time getting an unfill. Since I could eat something I did not worry. Even posted here asking what to eat.

Canceled several fills in between there and here, feeling like a failure, because I had not lost weight. Finally, I decided to go in and face the music, get yelled at, what ever...

I went for my fill today. Went to SCOR where they do the fills under floro. They ended up taking out another .4 cc's. Said that I was really tight. My pouch is a little distended, but they said that will go back down. I asked why it was distended and they said that drinking water with that much restriction could stretch it, so I should not feel bad about it. Told me to never wait this long between fills, especially being that restricted.

I have lost 4 lbs since August. Guess that is something. I met with the patient counselor and she gave me a ton of advice. Mostly that the band is NOT suppose to hurt. We are meant to eat REAL meat. Not the stuff put thru the blender, and ground meat.

My instructions are to be on liquids today, mushies tomorrow, and SOLID foods the next day. Blenders are a no no for me, I need to get a filet mignon and try that in the pm (poor me), and if that hurts I may need to get more removed.

I have the medium band, which was tight in the first place. The counselor said I might have needed the big band, so the band itself is tight, and with a little fill I should be fine. Told me not to judge myself based on fill level, because everyone is different. She has been banded several years so she knows what I am going thru.

Fill level goal is to not hurt and to not let too much go thru. Eat solid foods (no more spoons) and don't drink during meals (which I haven't been doing anyway).

Someone somewhere is going thru the same thing, and being overfilled is a pain in more ways than one. So here is what I have learned:

You won't lose eating mushies.

The band is not suppose to hurt.

Eat only things that you can eat with a fork.

You are not a failure if you have to get an unfill. You just have to find the right spot.

You must learn how to use this tool. Others can offer advice, but every BODY is different.

Hope this helps someone.

Hugs Poodles!!

Those folks are SCOR are really the best - and Marianne is a great gal. Hope you get that sweet spot this time.

Wow Poodles. I am sorry to hear the hell you have been through. Keep us posted on the filet mignon.

I hope the unfill was all you needed. Good luck.

THanks for the information. It helps to know what to do should this happen to me.

Here! Here! great advice poodles!

becky

Ergh, I hope never to go through this. I hope you're feeling better.

Yet another lesson that we cannot rely on our bands to be so tight that we simply cannot eat very much. You just have to leave enough space to eat real food and call in some self control, sensibility and willpower to use the band wisely, its the biggest (and most difficult) lesson we all have to learn. Its a tool, not a total fix (dammit).

At the very least I bet you would have liked to see a bit more weight off for all that suffering.

Oh yes, I would have liked to see more weight off. And I SHOULD have gone back sooner. I just could not tell if it was how the band was suppose to work or not. As I was bawling in the office, I told the lady "if I knew it was going to hurt so badly, I would have never gotten the thing." Then she told me it was not suppose to do that. Stupid me, I should have listened to others before it went this long.

Well now I am on day 4 of Atkins, and day 4 with my unfill.

Here is what I have had yesterday. Please tell me if this is good/bad/ok. This is the first time in 4 months I have been able to tolerate solids, so I think I am enjoying it way too much.

Brunch: 6 swedish meatballs (3 oz total) (around 11 am)

Lupper: 3 oz pork tenderloin and 1/2 cup low carb Pasta with sauce (around 3) YUMMY!!!

snack: whey shake with SF English Toffee syrup, really craving sweets now

Dinner: 1/3 cup guacamole, 1 thick slice roast beef from deli counter (around 7)

Snack: Iced coffee

Just can't tell you how good it feels to not choke on a whey shake in the am. I could not believe that meatballs went down... and they were good! This morning I had a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese... and it was good too. No pain, and I am full!!!!

Six months with the band, and I have to relearn everything. Man, I am slow. :love:

Poodles,

Hey I used Benavides also. How have you done when going back to the office? I just got my first fill a few weeks ago, up to 2.2 cc in my 4cc band. I was just like you couldn't eat solids to save my life. Okay a cracker or two would go down, but no meat, no Pasta, no thick mashed potatoes, no steamed veggies, not much of anything. So I went back before Christmas for an unfill. I now have 1.8cc in my band, but now i feel like there is not much restriction. For lunch I ate one of those Michelinas diet dinners, but it was either 8 or 10 oz, so I think I am too loose now. I am contemplating going back for another filll again, even though it's only been a couple of weeks since my unfill.

Kristi

I have not been back to see Dr. B. I just go to the fill center now. Figure I will go back to see him when I lose more weight.

I am enjoying my new found freedom from band punishment, and have actually stayed low carb with no cheats since 12/26 (see my sig!). I think that being a little loose is way better than being too tight.

Mushies are the devil, and carbs are often mushies, so I just stay away from them all. Protein, Protein, Protein!!!

Yet another lesson that we cannot rely on our bands to be so tight that we simply cannot eat very much. You just have to leave enough space to eat real food and call in some self control, sensibility and willpower to use the band wisely, its the biggest (and most difficult) lesson we all have to learn. Its a tool, not a total fix (dammit).

:clap2: Can I quote you on this? Ooops, I already did!

Tami

Jack- I went to the deli counter and asked the guy to cut it thick. I got 1 pound liverwurst, 1/2 lb corned beef, 1/2 lb roast beef, and 1/2 lb pastrami all cut the same. I can eat the beef and liverwurst, but the pastrami does not work... too hard. I must admit that I spit some of the tougher parts of the beef out too... yuck! I don't like the thin cut meat... except for turkey. Now keep in mind, the above is for 3 people, not just me. :love:

I also bought 2 blocks of cheese to have with the meat. Good stuff. DH and son like it on crackers or sandwiches, I just roll it up and eat it. The Roast Beef was also good in a quiche that I made (and CAN EAT!!!).

I have a question: I was banded on 11/6/06 and had my first fill 12/19/06 1cc, I have a 10cc band and wasn't feeling a thing. I went in on 1/3/07 and had .50cc added and now I'm wondering what too full feels like? What does your sweet spot feel like? I feel quite a bit of pressure in my chest when I eat but I'm able to eat pretty much anything just very slowly and well chewed. I'm just a little concerned since I have nothing to compare it too. I have another appointment on 1/30/07 and was planning on waiting until then to see how things go, I just can't imagine that 1.50cc would be so full.

yattila, everyone is different. I am quite full at .8 in my 4 cc band.

Too full feels like you can not swallow Water. I would make a whey Protein shake in the am, and not be able to drink it unless it was really watered down. I have no idea what my "sweet spot" feels like.

I like what I have now. I get full faster than unbanded, but can eat something for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Here are two examples:

Too Full Day:

B: coffee, whey Protein Shake

L: Mushie type stuff, stuffing, mashed potatoes, spegghetiO's, etc

D: lunch meat, blended chili, more mushie stuff or just sugar crap (that all goes down). Everything had to be blended, thin, or Soup like.

Not so full day (today):

B: 2 oz cream cheese, with 1 oz salmon, few black olives

L: 4 oz tofu, 1/3 cup chicken salad

Snack: SF Jello with SF Cool Whip

D: Low Carb noodles with sausage and cheese, about 1 cup.

Drinks: Water 40 oz (so far), frozen SF coffee, diet snapple tea

I don't think I am too loose, but know that too tight was miserable. I even went to a Chinese buffet the other day and tried different things to see if they would go down. Beff, ok, some chicken, ok, crab meat, ok, chicken on a stick...no, cabbage, ok, mushrooms, ok... you get the point...

Before when I went I would get egg drop soup and pray that would work. Totally miserable. I went way too long over filled. I will never go thru that hell again. Since I can eat meat now, I am doing really well on Atkins, and that says alot.

Good luck. Please don't think that your fill level needs to compare to anyone elses. We are all different!!!

Poodles I had a very similar experience to yours. I was too tight but didn't really realize it because I had to go on a soft diet due to dental work right after I got a fill at SCOR in August. When I finally went back I had actually slipped. That was in November. They took out all the Fluid and two weeks later my slip had corrected. I have now been back and had two fills and am at 5cc in my VG band.

When I ate something it felt painful and after a few minutes I could feel it *pop* through my band. Now I can eat and it is not painful.

So I UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad your "fixed".

Myra

Hello everyone, new to site, 8 weeks into lap world, found out today I have port problem, twisted sideways so they can't get fill in, any one heard of this happening????